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Fidelity CEO says federal government’s title insurance proposals are ’misguided’

Housing Wire

The firm attributed its stronger results to better performance from both its F&G segment and its title insurance segment. In April, purchase open orders per day were up 4% over last year, but higher mortgage rates may temper purchase volumes going forward. The firm’s title segment reported $1.7

Insurance 399
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Consumer protection is what title insurance is all about

Housing Wire

But there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel as mortgage rates are expected to steadily decrease, allowing homeownership to be within reach for more Americans. Even as home prices began to decrease last year, mortgage rates remained high, leading both buyers and sellers to stay out of the housing market.

Insurance 428
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As rising mortgage rates push buyers to the brink, sellers are starting to cut prices

Housing Wire

Even with demand buoyed by a sparse housing inventory, growing financial challenges for buyers are forcing home sellers to cut prices to close deals, a new Redfin research report found. And because mortgage rates have been above 7% for about two months consecutively, the cost of financing is extreme. According to the brokerage, 6.5%

Sellers 498
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Seller impersonation fraud threatens American homeownership

Housing Wire

In such an environment, buyers may feel pressure to bypass steps in the transaction to make their bid more attractive to the seller, but they should be wary that taking shortcuts can expose them to fraud. Secret Service reported a steep rise in seller impersonation in an advisory it issued this year.

Sellers 369
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Insurance carrier exodus rattles California and Florida housing markets

Housing Wire

In late June, Susan Gregory received an estimate for a new homeowner’s insurance policy on her 120-year-old St. Augustine, Florida property, after her previous insurer, United Property and Casualty, went insolvent earlier in the year. This is one of the easiest parts of Florida to insure and costs have gone up over 40%.”

Insurance 348
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Key housing markets are starting to buck national trends: Redfin

Housing Wire

year over year in March, although growth in listings is expected to subside due to the lock-in effect of higher mortgage rates. HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center showed that the average 30-year conventional fixed rate was 7.56% on Friday — up from 6.83% at the start of the year. “My from 2018 to 2023.

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The title industry’s latest cat-and-mouse game: seller impersonation fraud

Housing Wire

Secret Service , notified the title industry of a rise in what is known as vacant lot fraud, or seller impersonation fraud. “We We started to hear a lot about seller impersonation fraud early on in the year,” Tyler Adams, the CEO of CertifID, said. “We Oftentimes this leads to the discovery of vacant lots. million, according to NAR.

Sellers 367